Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 22.djvu/280

 268 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 22, 1920

son-in-law's sister, daughter-in-law's brother, mother-in-law's brother." Of these three relationships, however, the first two fall outside the circle of recognized affinity, while the third is merged with the parent-in-law.

Summarizing the most striking peculiarities of the Nass River system of terms of relationship, we may point out that it:

1. Makes considerable, but by no means exhaustive, use of the principles of reciprocity and of sex differences in speaker, person designated, and connecting link.

2. Rather frequently merges lineal with collateral kindred.

3. Confuses, to at least some extent, relations of affinity with relations of consanguinity.

4. Makes some use of transparently descriptive terms.

5. At no point recognizes the principle of seniority which is all but universal in aboriginal America (e.g., "older brother" and 1 ' younger brother ").

6. Possesses a number of distinctive vocative terms.

IV. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES DUE TO MR. P. C. CALDER To i. Neither Mr. Calder nor Mr. Matheson seemed very familiar with the term 'o' n s. "Grandfather" and "grandmother" are generally used instead. Mr. Calder has heard t o' ni sC used among the Gitlaxt'a' r mikc band, further up the river, and is inclined to think that the term was originally confined to the upper villages, there having been old dialectic differences among the Nass River people that are now ironed out. This hardly seems likely in view of of the fact that the term 'o' n s was easily remembered by Chief Barton, of Kincolith, which is at the very mouth of the river, and has been obtained for Tsimshian proper by Dr. Boas (through Nahum Tate) and by Mr. Beynon. When the Tsimshian terms were obtained, Mr. Matheson remembered hearing 'o'' u ls used in his childhood for "great-grandmother," but was not certain whether it also applied to "great-grandfather." Mr. Calder claimed that if it was necessary to distinguish the "great-grandparent" from the "grandparent," it could be done by referring to the latter as "my great grandfather" (wi't'e'sim niy^'e'*) or "my great grandmother"

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